1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to agricultural vehicles such as combines, and, more particularly, to the securing of unloading augers used on such vehicles.
2. Description of the Related Art
An agricultural vehicle known as a “combine” is historically termed such because it combines multiple harvesting functions with a single harvesting unit, such as picking, threshing, separating and cleaning A combine includes a header which removes the crop from a field, and a feeder housing which transports the crop matter into a threshing rotor. The threshing rotor rotates within a perforated housing, which may be in the form of adjustable concaves, and performs a threshing operation on the crop to remove the grain. Once the grain is threshed it falls through perforations in the concaves onto a grain pan. From the grain pan the grain is cleaned using a cleaning system, and is then transported to a grain tank onboard the combine. The cleaning system includes a cleaning fan which blows air through oscillating sieves to discharge chaff and other debris toward the rear of the combine. Non-grain crop material such as straw from the threshing section proceeds through a straw chopper and out the rear of the combine. When the grain tank becomes full, the combine is positioned adjacent a vehicle into which the grain is to be unloaded, such as a semi-trailer, gravity box, straight truck, or the like; and an unloading system on the combine is actuated to transfer the grain into the vehicle.
More particularly, a rotary threshing or separating system includes one or more rotors which can extend axially (front to rear) or transversely within the body of the combine, and which are partially or fully surrounded by a perforated concave. The crop material is threshed and separated by the rotation of the rotor within the concave. Coarser non-grain crop material such as stalks and leaves are transported to the rear of the combine and discharged back to the field. The separated grain, together with some finer non-grain crop material such as chaff, dust, straw, and other crop residue are discharged through the concaves and fall onto the grain pan where they are transported to the cleaning system. Alternatively, the grain and finer non-grain crop material may also fall directly onto the cleaning system itself.
The cleaning system further separates the grain from non-grain crop material, and typically includes a fan directing an air flow stream upwardly and rearwardly through vertically arranged sieves which oscillate in a fore and aft manner. The air flow stream lifts and carries the lighter non-grain crop material towards the rear end of the combine for discharge to the field. Clean grain, being heavier, and larger pieces of non-grain crop material, which are not carried away by the air flow stream, fall onto a surface of an upper sieve (also known as a chaffer sieve) where some or all of the clean grain passes through to a lower sieve (also known as a cleaning sieve). Grain and non-grain crop material remaining on the upper and lower sieves are physically separated by the reciprocating action of the sieves as the material moves rearwardly. Any grain and/or non-grain crop material remaining on the top surface of the upper sieve are discharged at the rear of the combine. Grain falling through the lower sieve lands on a bottom pan of the cleaning system, where it is conveyed forwardly toward a clean grain auger.
The clean grain auger is positioned below the lower sieve, and receives clean grain from each sieve and from the bottom pan of the cleaning system. The clean grain auger then augers the clean grain laterally sideways to a clean grain elevator, which in turn conveys the clean grain to a grain tank onboard the combine.
The clean grain is transferred to another container, usually a container on a separate transport vehicle, either while the combine is stopped or while it is in motion. The transfer of clean grain from the combine to an external container is by various methods which propel the clean grain through an unloading auger. The unloading auger swings away from the combine and directs the clean grain into the external carrier. After the unloading auger has been utilized, it is swung back to the combine.
While the combine is in operation in the field, a “rod and tusk” system or other apparatus can be utilized to minimize vertical travel, or “bouncing”, of the unloading auger while in the storage position resulting from the combine encountering rough terrain. This vertical travel, or “bouncing”, can result in a “hammer/anvil” type action between the unloading auger and the support saddle, which can be quite violent and result in structural damage to the unloading auger or grain loss from the discharge end. During the time the combine is not in use for harvesting, but is traveling from place to place, a removable pin such as a “klik pin” is typically used to prevent the unloading auger from horizontal travel in the event of hydraulic failure or other causes. While the aforementioned vertical travel and horizontal travel of the unloading auger is minimized by securing it with the “rod and tusk” system and “klik pins”, the securing is by design an active one; i.e., the operator must manually secure the unloading auger to ensure it is locked down. The operator may forget to lock the unloading auger down, and may also expose himself to hot or sharp surfaces.
What is needed in the art is a passive way to secure the unloading auger of an agricultural harvester to prevent horizontal or vertical movement when the harvester is in motion.